{"id":20637,"date":"2023-03-10T05:43:10","date_gmt":"2023-03-10T05:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=20637"},"modified":"2023-03-10T05:43:10","modified_gmt":"2023-03-10T05:43:10","slug":"work-and-care-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2023\/03\/10\/work-and-care-report\/","title":{"rendered":"WORK AND CARE REPORT"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>A landmark Senate report has called for a major overhaul of Australia\u2019s workplace laws to fix the crisis affecting workers with caring responsibilities.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the first report of its kind, the Senate Select Committee on Work and Care, chaired by Greens Senator Barbara Pocock, has released key reform recommendations supported by the majority of the committee, including Labor members.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The report recommends:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>A right to disconnect from work outside paid hours;<\/li><li>Examine the case for a shorter working week<\/li><li>Moving toward 52 weeks Paid Parental Leave<\/li><li>Childcare: steps towards universal, quality, early childhood education&nbsp;<\/li><li>Lifting pay for care workers in childcare, disability and aged care;<\/li><li>A right to predictable, stable rosters;<\/li><li>Paid sick, carers and holiday leave for casuals<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAustralia is mired in a work and care crisis which demands bold reform to fix an economic, gender equity and workforce crisis,\u201d Committee Chair and Greens Senator Barbara Pocock said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe committee\u2019s report gives the Government the blueprint it needs to revolutionise our workplace laws so Australians, and particularly women, can find a balance between working and caring responsibilities,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAustralia is an international outlier in terms of our support for workers with caring responsibilities. We have slipped too far behind. And we are paying a price in labour supply, stressed workers, and gender inequality.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt is time for a new social contract, fit for the 21st Century workforce, that does not put the burden on workers juggling care responsibilities around their jobs,\u201d Senator Pocock said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur economy now relies as much on women workers as men, and we need a new approach that recognises that nearly all workers at some point in their lives will need to provide care for children, the elderly and disabled.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe need more than a right to work, we need a right to<em>&nbsp;both work and care,\u201d&nbsp;<\/em>Senator Pocock said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some employers are already seeing the benefits of more flexible working arrangements and are moving to give workers a bigger say in rostering and ensuring the right to disconnect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe heard evidence from several employers, including one conducting a trial where workers maintain their full-time wage while working a 4 day week, that giving workers greater control over their rosters can enhance productivity,\u201d said Senator Pocock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018Without action, we are loading up women and carers, lowering their earnings, increasing their stress and leaving too many in poverty after a life-time of work and care\u2019.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018Work-life balance is a remote dream for too many. Especially those living the nightmare of last-minute shift changes which make finding care for loved ones or kids impossible. Unpredictable \u2018just in time\u2019 shifts don\u2019t work for workers who look after others.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe must recognise &#8211; and measure &#8211; the essential value of unpaid care to our economy and our wellbeing,\u201d Senator Pocock said. \u201cIt\u2019s worth at least half the value of GDP. The economy can\u2019t exist without care, without reproduction of the workers of the future,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s time to give new parents more paid leave when a baby arrives, and to recognise that childcare is an essential part of economic infrastructure, like the roads we use to get to work. Quality, universal care narrows inequality. At present it is too expensive and hard to find in too many places. It should be free,\u201d Senator Pocock said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis report argues for a holistic not piecemeal approach. We need to look after carers better, rather than punish them with poverty and punitive work tests. And we need to respond to the changing nature of work by making sure our jobs and technology don\u2019t eat our lives. Many other countries have put limits on working time creating the right to disconnect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThese measures will help alleviate the pressures of working and caring in Australia. We have been moving in the wrong direction &#8211; with fraying job security and increasingly unpredictable working time for too many. It\u2019s time for action in the opposite direction,\u201d said Senator Pocock.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A landmark Senate report has called for a major overhaul of Australia\u2019s workplace laws to fix the crisis affecting workers with caring responsibilities. In the first report of its kind, the Senate Select Committee on Work and Care, chaired by Greens Senator Barbara Pocock, has released key reform recommendations supported by the majority of the &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2023\/03\/10\/work-and-care-report\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;WORK AND CARE REPORT&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20637"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20637\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20639,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20637\/revisions\/20639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}